Topic: 2026 – Verification of Disarmament
Country: Nigeria
Delegate Name: Jack Kolkema
Country: Federal Republic of Nigeria
School: Grand Haven
Committee: DISEC (B)
Topic: Verification of Disarmament
Nigeria firmly believes that verification of disarmament should be achieved through any means necessary. Nigeria believes that the threat that chemical, biological, and especially nuclear weapons pose to the world’s health and the world’s ecosystems far outweighs the cries that states may say that this practice breaches their sovereignty, as a nuclear holocaust or any large-scale effects from WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) does not respect borders. Nigeria is often pointed out as a model state regarding subjects like this, as they operate a purely civilian or scientific nuclear program. Nigeria urges the use of non-governmental organizations to check on states to verify the validity of a disarmament agreement. Nigeria is a signatory and member of many international treaties and agreements regarding this subject.
As a member of the IPNDV, or The International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification, Nigeria would like to see a adhernece to the “14 step model”, a step by step process with many checkpoints designed by the IPNDV to create a safe and responsible way for a state to dispose of WMD, and possibly see the practices used in this model be expanded or modified for biological and chemical weapons. Nigeria is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and is therefore a staunch believer in the power of the IAEA, or the International Atomic Energy Agency, to conduct non-biased and thorough verifications of disarmament. NAM, which Nigeria is a member of, regarded the New START (Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms) treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States of America, a treaty that allows both countries to survey WMD locations to verify the treaty guarantees, as a great step forward in verification, showing that many WMD’s are made because of a fear of another, and that agreements between hostile nations like New START can help melt the ice between two states and possibly provide a framework for other similar situations.
Any solution regarding diplomacy and agreements to verify disarmament is favorable to Nigeria. Nigeria feels the use of 3rd party organizations or agencies helps ensure the most integrity, as self verification would be too easy to falsify and a foreign government agency would violate a state’s sovereignty. But, as mentioned earlier, the New START treaty, a treaty not involving any 3rd parties, was also a positive in this world, as if 2 nations agree to trust each other, bilateral agreements copying the New Start would be something Nigeria would like to see. A good course of action would be for Nigeria to create or help push forward a resolution that strengthens the IAEA to monitor high risk disarmament, and possibly widens the authority to include chemical and biological WMDs, keeping the world safe. Nigeria would also like any sort of resolution that creates a framework for nations with WMDs to establish and debate on what grounds they would scrap their WMDs, and allow each other to check in on each other to see whether they meet the obligations, through an agency like the IAEA.
Works Cited
“About the Nuclear Disarmament Verification Initiative.” IPNDV, https://www.ipndv.org/about/. Accessed 10 February 2026.
Endoni, Syndoph P. Statement by Nigeria UNGA79. 7 October 2024, https://docs-library.unoda.org/General_Assembly_First_Committee_-Seventy-Ninth_session_(2024)/Nigeria.pdf. Accessed 10 February 2026.
“Nigeria.” Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor, https://banmonitor.org/profiles/nigeria. Accessed 10 February 2026.
“Statement by Delegation of the Republic of Indonesia on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.” October 2023, https://docs-library.unoda.org/General_Assembly_First_Committee_-Seventy-Eighth_session_(2023)/qn15G7zaRYSF_en.pdf. Accessed 10 February 2026.
